St. Margaret's arts center ushers in expansion plan

April 4, 2013

Updated Aug. 21, 2013 1:17 p.m.

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The main lobby to St. Margaret's Theater shows off its sound-proof qualities. Though the lobby was silent, there were students performing and practicing with their musical instruments down the hallway. The theater was tailored so any space could be a performing space, including the lobby. ISAAC ARJONILLA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Mr. Gene Wie teaches a fourth-grade orchestra class in one of the center's orchestra rooms. Wie leads the Orchestra and Chamber Music Program at St. Margaret's Episcopal School. ISAAC ARJONILLA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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The students of Mrs. Stacey Miles's choir class perform vocal tests in the Choral room of the St. Margaret's Theater. ISAAC ARJONILLA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

The top of the Marcus D. Hurlbut Theater is lined with a wire floor that helps prevent any accidents with the lights, but also allows technicians to adjusts any lights with more ease. ISAAC ARJONILLA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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The Costume Studio situated near the Marcus D. Hurlbut Theater comes with a large array of fabrics for costume creation and a conveyor belt that hangs all of the designed costumes. ISAAC ARJONILLA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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The levels at the bottom of the Allen and Heath mixing board allow the technicians to adjust and control the output volume for the performers microphones on stage. ISAAC ARJONILLA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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The McGregor Family Theater provides a smaller, more intimate theater and also serves as one of the theater classrooms. ISAAC ARJONILLA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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The 44,000-square-foot facility boasts a teaching theater with about 130 seats, a larger theater with a capacity of around 450 seats, a dance studio, large rooms for orchestra, band and choral groups and sound-proof rooms where students can practice with their instruments. ISAAC ARJONILLA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Sillers Hall at St. Margaret's Episcopal School used to provide some of the performance space for students before the new performing arts center was completed. ISAAC ARJONILLA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Sillers Hall at St. Margaret's Episcopal School used to provide some of the performance space for students before the new performing arts center was completed. ISAAC ARJONILLA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

The main lobby to St. Margaret's Theater shows off its sound-proof qualities. Though the lobby was silent, there were students performing and practicing with their musical instruments down the hallway. The theater was tailored so any space could be a performing space, including the lobby. ISAAC ARJONILLA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Performing arts center

44,000: Size of the Performing Arts Center in square feet

11: sound-proof practice rooms

450: Seats available in the Marcus D. Hurlbut Theater.

125: Seats available in a smaller performance area where theater classes are taught

14: Steinway pianos given to St. Margaret’s after its designation as an All-Steinway School in September

$17-18 million: Cost of the Performing Arts Center

25: Acres the school occupies at 31641 La Novia Ave.

1,240: Students at St. Margaret's in preschool through 12th grade

220: Employees at St. Margaret's

1979: Year St. Margaret's opened

1986: Year of first graduating high school class

Students at St. Margaret's Episcopal School have long been accustomed to excellence. But a new multimillion dollar performing arts center puts them on a level unaccustomed at even some of the most prestigious college-level theater programs in the country.

A 450-seat theater with a full orchestra pit. A 125-seat space for intimate performances and theater classes. Performance rooms designed specifically for choir, orchestra and band with recording studio capability. Sound-proof practice rooms. And a long list of amenities that includes custom-made chandeliers.

"I've never seen a facility of this quality in person at any other school," said Darcy Rice, the school's director of the arts.

The building, which cost $17 million to $18 million, opened in August and is part of an ongoing capital campaign aimed at renovating the campus and upgrading its already top notch facilities.

It's been the only thing built so far: A plan for a new baseball field and tennis courts hasn't been pitched publicly since receiving a cool reception from the San Juan Capistrano Planning Commission in February, and a long-term leaseholder currently occupies the desired location for a new middle school. St. Margaret's inherited the lease when they bought the land, and school officials intend to honor it, said Anne Dahlem, St. Margaret's spokeswoman.

ARTS EXCELLENCE

But the opening of the performing arts center ushered in a new era of arts excellence at the school and has quickly become a focal point of campus energy.

"It brings a new level of quality to the program," Dahlem said.

Previously, students performed plays in Sillers Hall, which has such a small stage that students would construct their own to give more performance space. School officials hope to renovate that space into a kitchen and dining hall with money raised through the capital campaign.

School officials emphasis that the top-notch arts program is just one part of a wide-ranging curriculum.

"It's not about turning anybody into professional artist, although every year, we do," Rice said. "We're teaching 21st century skills, and arts education is the best way to do that." Students learn multiculturalism, the ability to handle ambiguity and, above all else, they learn a sense of identity.

"One of the most powerful things arts education does is help develop individual voices," Rice said. "They're not speaking for their parents."

The building is a source of envy for students who graduated last year.

"They're very, very jealous," said Mattingly Messina, a St. Margaret's student and actor. Messina, of Laguna Niguel, joined fellow senior Karly Thomas, of San Juan Capistrano, in a performance of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof at the building's 450-seat theater, named for St. Margaret's Headmaster Marcus Hulbert, who retires this year.

Messina said students love the building and aren't finished exploring its many uses. Its wide range of capabilities means students aren't pinned to just one area. Students not comfortable in front of an audience may discover their true passion lies backstage. Messina got into theater his junior year and still plays right field for the baseball team.

"Our high school offers so many opportunities to try different things," Thomas said.

Thomas was assistant director of the Sound of Music and said she discovered her love for play writing through a workshop at school.

"It was kind of an accident," she said.

INNOVATIVE TOOLS

Technological advancements like video cameras throughout the building also open more learning opportunities, Rice said. Students can track performances through the cameras and time their entrances. Rice said that can lead to important learning experiences for young performers if he lets them make mistakes.

"They'll remember it far better if I let them make the mistake than if I go up there and prevent the mistake from happening," Rice said.

Theater lights can be controlled through an iPad. And staff members plan to create a computer database detailing the thousands of costumers available in the wardrobe room.

One goal of the new building is to expand summer programs. The additional space also enabled Rice to produce two school plays instead of one, which allowed him to divide students by age and pick plays more in line with their age group. Fourth and fifth graders performed the Phantom Toll Booth last fall, and first through third graders will perform Frog and Toad this spring. That wouldn't be possible without the new building.

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